5 FAQs on the Republican Tax Plan

5 FAQs on the Republican Tax Plan

One of the biggest fights in Washington, DC this year will be over taxes. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House, are gearing up to enact one of their top priorities: trillions of dollars in new tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations.

See below for some quick FAQs on what we know about their tax plan:

What do we expect to be in the tax bill?

Expect to see new tax breaks for billionaires, including tax cuts for those in the top income brackets, as well as more loopholes to help the ultrawealthy avoid paying taxes on their investment portfolio or on their income from owning businesses or investments. We will also likely see proposals that would help the children of the ultrawealthy pay less taxes on their inherited mansions or other properties.

Donald Trump has also discussed further cutting taxes for corporations. The 2017 tax law slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, and Trump wants to take it even further by cutting it to 15% for domestic companies — costing hundreds of billions of dollars that could otherwise have gone to fund programs to lower food, child care, and housing costs for families.

Here’s what we won’t see: the kinds of changes to refundable tax credits for families that help them pay for necessities, improve children’s health and well-being, and reduce poverty.

How will the Republican tax bill hurt every day families?

To pay for these new billionaire tax cuts, Republicans are proposing to take away healthcare coverage from millions of people and cut food assistance, leading to higher grocery and health care costs for families. We can expect other programs that were targeted for funding cuts in the Republican’s Project 2025 agenda, such as Head Start and housing assistance, to be on the chopping block as well.

The tax bill could also lead to increased prices for families and slow down economic growth. The bill is expected to cost upwards of $8 trillion dollars, substantially increasing the national deficit, which in turn, would lead to higher interest rates for credit cards and home mortgages.

Just like all the tax cuts that came before, these proposed tax cuts will not “trickle down” to average families or raise wages.

How are the Republicans planning to move this super expensive tax bill?

Republicans will be using a special budget process called “reconciliation” to move their tax bill through Congress more quickly. Any bill passed through this process only requires 51 votes in the Senate. That means it can pass without any Democratic Senators voting for it. The bill will still need a simple majority in the House, just like any other bill.

In an effort to deceive the public, Republicans will resort to gimmicks to make the bill look less expensive than it really is. That includes pretending that extending tax cuts that were going to expire at the end of the year won’t cost anything or making some of the new tax cuts temporary – with the intention of extending them – so that the overall cost of the tax plan looks lower.

When do we expect the tax bill to get a vote?

Republicans in Congress have already begun negotiating the tax bill amongst themselves, and major corporations are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbyists to ensure that their tax cuts are included in the tax plan.

Once a bill draft has been created, it will need to go through House and Senate committees. Once the tax bill clears the committees, it will get a vote. In the Senate, before there is a floor vote, there will be what DC-wonks like to call a “vote-a-rama” — where amendments will be offered. If any of those amendments pass, they will be added to the bill.

Once the vote-a-rama is complete, the tax bill (including the approved amendments) will receive one final vote where it will need to get a simple majority in the House, and 51 votes in the Senate. If the Republican tax bill passes Congress, it will be sent to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law. This could happen as early as the spring.

We can’t let Republican leaders get away with pushing for new and costly tax breaks that benefit billionaires and mega-corporations—at the expense of everyone else.

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